Lovesick (12/12)

Previous                                                                                                                                           Start

12: Equilibrium

Victor showed up at Nedra’s apartment later that night.  She called him a few hours ago, but he was in the middle of some work and told her he would be there that night.  He asked if she was all right, and she said yes.  He asked if she had good news, and all she said was that she had news.  There was no inflection to her voice, and Victor didn’t know how to feel about it at first.

Lovesick (11/12)

Previous

11:  Finding Balance

Nedra was in her living room, where she’d been for the past three days, curled up on her couch.  The TV was on, but she had no idea what was showing.  It was just background noise that took the edge off the deafening silence of her phone.  She had not heard from Jon since she left his house and it was driving her batshit.  She was terrified that she was going to lose him.  He was a good man, not without his flaws or faults, but he was good enough that she loved him and wanted to save their relationship.

Did he still feel the same way?  The uncertainty of something that was once as solid as granite and stronger than oak was freaking her out.  Nedra was not one for tears, but within the past three days, she’d cried an ocean of them.  She cried until her head hurt and her nose was clogged.  She hadn’t taken a shower in two days and hadn’t bothered to untwist her hair or even remove her headscarf.  She’d been drinking and binge-eating: four empty wine bottles were on her coffee table and there were two open boxes of chocolates and a giant bag of Doritos next to the bottles.  Three Haagen Dazs quart containers lined one end of the table.

Lovesick (10/12)

Previous

10: Uneasy Conversation

There was a Motel Spin about 12 miles away from the Baxter Building, tucked in between locations easily overlooked.  It was the one Nedra and Victor used most often; they would meet after his workday ended and before hers began and spend two hours rutting like animals or engaging in acts of shameless debauchery.  Nedra was a fan of rough sex and dirty talk, and being in a trash-ass motel brought those characteristics screaming to the forefront.  She encouraged Victor to call her names and the first time he was hesitant, but then she slapped him across the face hard enough to split his lip and he called her a bitch before he realized what he said.  It was a most unusual circumstance.

“That’s right,” she encouraged.  “Right here, right now in room 12 of the Motel Spin, I’m a sneaky, dirty ass bitch and a filthy slut, and I deserve to be punished…are you man enough?”  Then she backhanded him hard enough that he almost fell.  “Are you man enough, Victor?”

He was.

Lovesick (9/?)

Previous

9: Resonance

It was raining hard outside.  Inside, music was playing, as was the case when they were hanging out in her house.  Victor preferred coming to Nedra’s apartment, as it was far more comfortable than his place.  He didn’t have a problem driving the hour it took to get there, for it was always worth it.  Nedra’s home was warm, inviting and she made concessions for his frequent visits; there were certain foods and other items she kept on hand for his consumption and use.  They agreed to take tonight off, as Victor wanted to engineer a particular encounter with Nedra; one he’d been planning ever since they agreed to take their relationship to the next level.

Lovesick (8/?)

Previous

8: TNT

After breakfast, Victor found himself in Nedra’s super-girly mauve and cream bathroom.  She had a custom built tub, sizeable enough to comfortably contain her and her beau.  It was certainly big enough for the two of them, and it was under her giant bathroom window.  The morning sun streamed in and Victor was in his own private heaven; between her legs, head and beard covered in suds, eyes closed, lips parted in bliss as Nedra slowly scratched his scalp.  While she had her hands in his hair, she had her legs hooked over his and her feet around his dick, slowly giving him a footjob.  Sounds of pleasure escaped him; moans and groans, oohs and ahhs, yeses and more, deities, and most importantly…her name.

Nedra liked being in control like this.  She liked that she could bring a man like Victor von Doom to his knees, considering what she knew about him.  This had to remain their secret and she needed to make sure he understood that he could not engage her at work under any circumstances…no matter how hot it would be for him to sneak in and get some up against the wall between her file cabinets.

She would have done it with Jon, but that was a completely different animal.

Lovesick (7/?)

Previous

7:  Lovesick

Victor walked quietly through Nedra’s apartment, taking in the nuances of her home.  It was elegant yet cozy, beautifully decorated…and Jon’s presence was all over.  There were pictures of them, of him, of her family, his family…her degrees and military honors.  She had bookshelves full of research manuals and works of fiction by authors he’d never heard of.  He picked up a couple and thumbed through, wondering if the woman had ever heard of Kindle or any other kind of e-reader.  He picked up one of the pictures of her and Jon, both in formal military garb, and stared at it for a very long moment.  There was another picture of them, taken from behind, holding hands as they walked into an ocean surf sunset.

Lovesick (6/?)

Previous

6:  Semtex

Victor arrived at Nedra’s apartment with a bottle of champagne and a half-dozen black calla lilies.  The lilies cost more than the champagne.  He wondered briefly if Nedra actually dressed for their date.  He wore a suit; black Kenneth Cole, white Brooks Brothers, open at the throat, showing just the tiniest bit of chest fuzz.  She told him to arrive at six, and he was literally at her door one minute before, ringing.  He was actually nervous.

Three weeks after their return from China, Victor got a random text from Nedra telling him when to show up at her house and where she lived, even though he already knew.  Victor stared at the out-of-nowhere message for a solid 30 seconds before he realized what it was.  And so he stood at her door and rang the bell, wondering what she’d be wearing.  If it were sweats, or shorts and a T-shirt, he’d be somewhat heartbroken because the message would be crystal clear.

Lovesick (5/?)

Previous

5: Secret Heart

Victor followed them to Hainan.  They had a suite at the Renaissance Sanya Resort, and so did he.  But he would try to keep his distance; he didn’t want to Nedra to be creeped out by his actions.  Just the opposite.  So he did his best to be inconspicuous but also keep an eye on the loving couple.  Watching them was a very enlightening experience and it drew him into introspection.  Nedra was a devoted researcher, but she had a full life outside of that lab. 

The realization gave Victor pause and made him think about himself, Reed and Sue.  Johnny had a life as far as Victor knew; he was an adrenaline junkie who was being forced by his father to participate in the project.  But him and the others…they lived, breathed, and ate their work, and while that was necessary in order to achieve needed breakthroughs, it wasn’t a full life.  Victor was no longer sure it was even a happy one.  It was just what he did—what they did.  The work was what mattered; the questions that drove them.  It was true of Nedra as a research chemist, but somewhere along the line, she found a way to balance her work and personal life.  She knew how to enjoy herself and not be wholly consumed by her research.

This was something Victor had to seriously consider if he really wanted Nedra.  If his goal was for her to choose him, he had to learn how to achieve a similar balance.  He supposed he could; he had certainly taken time away from the transporter work to follow her halfway around the world…but could he have fun with her?  What kind of fun could they have?  He couldn’t let her get bored; not when she had a mate who was as adventurous and spontaneous as she clearly was.

Nedra and Jon knew how to enjoy themselves.  They snorkeled, swam in the ocean, parasailed, took boat rides, explored caves and traveled zip lines.  They did whatever activity took their fancy.  They engaged.  Sometimes they ate at the nice resort restaurants; other times they found cheap bars and slummed a little.  Victor realized that there wasn’t anything they as a couple wouldn’t try.  It was disheartening as he recalled Nedra saying that Jon was her perfect match.  How could he compete with that?

He’d figure it out, that was for sure.

Lovesick (4/?)

Previous

4: Easy Conversation

Jon fell on the bed and went right to sleep after they had sex.  Nedra smiled at him, knowing how he felt.  She was not going to be long in joining him; she needed to wash her face and tie down her braids before getting into bed.  And her new dress—if it could still be called that—was still twisted around her body.  She thought she would take a quick, quick shower before getting into bed beside him.

Nedra sat on the toilet, lid down, as she waited for her legs to quit shaking.  It wasn’t as bad as the first time.  She removed her dress and stockings, and after a moment or two longer, got up and went to the mirror.  Her legs were still weak, but she could at least stand this time.  That Erotic V was no fucking joke.  She wanted to thank Victor for showing her the position, because Jon hit it clean out of the park.  One of her shoes was in the bedroom; she had no idea where she’d lost the other one.  She stared in the bathroom mirror, a serene glow in her cheeks and her eyes were lit up in the way only Jon could manage.  He liked it too, but when he finally put her down, he was exhausted and told her he had to go to sleep.

Lovesick (3/?)

Previous

3: Jonathan

Jon was back and she was happy.  Nedra met him at the airport and they practically made out in Baggage Claim, oblivious to envious onlookers.  Jonathan Holland was six-three, broad-shouldered and 240 pounds of good old-fashioned Marine muscle.  He wore his dark hair short and he was so beautiful that men and women did double takes when they saw him.  Nedra loved it and loved him.

“Roxy,” he said, picking her up and kissing her, one large hand on her ass.  “I’m so glad to see you, baby.  Been too long.”

Nedra nuzzled his nose, giggling as he spun her around.  Then he put her down and kissed her in earnest.  She kissed him back, popping her ass out so he could grip it.  She pulled away reluctantly.  “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, baby,” she said.  “But we may cause a scene that’ll have TSA on our asses if we don’t grab your bags and split.”

Jon pulled her in for another real kiss.  “Then let’s grab and go.”

Lovesick (2/?)

Previous

2. Thermite

The BMW was smooth as silk and the roads were empty, as they should have been at two-something in the morning.  Nedra’s encounter with Victor was all in her head, all over her body, thrumming through her nerves like a live wire.  She turned on the iPod.  Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love” was the last song she’d been listening to.   Nedra rolled down the windows, cranked the volume and tried to forget about Victor.  She looked at the lily on the dashboard and it stared right back at her, ensuring that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.  The existence of the gorgeous black flower screamed a truth she had to deal with.

‘He found me.’

‘He didn’t forget about me.’

Lovesick

Fandom: The Fantastic Four

Pairing: Victor/Nedra

Rating: NC-17.  I mean, do I even need to say it??

Disclaimer:  Victor von Doom, Franklin Storm, and the Baxter Building are Fox & Marvel’s property.  Nedra Nix, Jon Holland, and any other characters, locales, and brands not under the aforementioned scope are my property.  This includes Yang’s, Victor’s favorite Chinese joint.

Timeframe:  This story picks up six weeks after where “Playing Pool With Planets” left off, but before the end scene where Victor finds Nedra at the Coke machine.  In fact, it would serve the Dark Dilettantes well to know that as it relates to this story, that scene officially no longer exists (though I am not removing it from the story itself).  As a result, this makes the events in “Otherside of the Game” nonexistent, but I ain’t taking it down either.  Just think of it as a Nedra/Victor “Choose Your Own Adventure.”

A/N: Because Victor did not get the screen time he so blatantly deserved in Fan4stic and because I have a serious, serious case of lady wood for the glorious Toby Kebbell (I mean, look at this man), and because the Muse is serenading, and also because I’m feeling sleazy, I decided to put him in one of my playgrounds where we can have some freedom and fun.  Nedra, being my own creation, goes wherever I want her to.

A/A/N:  Noob encouraged me to watch RocknRolla, which I happily did.  We won’t go into how FIVE of the men on my He Can Get It list are doin’ it in that hilarious flick…and how I missed its existence for 8 years!  Mr. Kebbell plays a junkie rock star (like a fuckin’ boss) and at the end, he gets clean (and I do mean clean)…and well, I decided to use that particular end persona as rocket fuel for this story.  You watch it, you’ll see why.  Sweatergawd.

Summary:  Five weeks after getting Victor to return to the Baxter Building using her lethal arsenal, Nedra goes on with her life as a research chemist.  Victor, however, won’t be so easily dismissed, discarded, or disregarded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1: Bad Habits